Walter Aldro Day (born May 14, 1949) is an American businessman and the founder of

Twin Galaxies Twin Galaxies is an organization and social media platform for people involved in the culture and activity of playing video games. It facilitates their interaction as well as their competition and recognizes their achievements. Twin Galaxie ...

, an organization that tracks world records for

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

s and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions.

Biography

Day was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

, on May 14, 1949. After moving to the town of

Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families below the poverty line. The city is typical ...

, Day sold commemorative newspapers for a living and in 1980 went to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, to become an

oil future In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

s trader. Day soon moved back to Fairfield and became a landlord, purchasing the Twin Galaxies arcade in

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves ...

, in 1981. That same year, he appeared on the cover of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' in an edition featuring video games, and he established an online platform to establish rules and compile records for competitive video game playing. Twin Galaxies soon became known as the trusted database for high score records. Beginning in 1983,

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

recognized video games as a new category, and Twin Galaxies became the official supplier of verified scores. Day was designated as an assistant editor in charge of video game scores for the 1984 to 1986 editions. At the opening of the 2017 Hugo Awards ceremony, Day presented a Guinness Record recognizing the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

as the longest-running science fiction award. Day has appeared in documentary films including ''

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

'' (2002), ''Coin-Op TV'' (2007), '' Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade'' (2007), '' The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'' (2007), ''Frag'' (2008), ''The Video Craze'' (2013), ''Gamer Age'' (2014), '' The King of Arcades'' (2015), ''

Nintendo Quest ''Nintendo Quest: The Most Unofficial and Unauthorized Nintendo Documentary Ever!'' is a 2015 Canadian/American documentary road film directed by Rob McCallum about Jay Bartlett and his quest to acquire all 678 licensed Nintendo Entertainment Sy ...

'' (2015), and ''

Man vs Snake ''Man vs Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler'' is a 2015 documentary film directed by Andrew Seklir and Tim Kinzy. The film premiered on September 27, 2015, at Fantastic Fest Film Festival, followed by a Canadian premiere on April 17, 201 ...

'' (2015). Day left Twin Galaxies in May 2010 to pursue a career in music.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Walter 1949 births Living people Esports businesspeople American referees and umpires Writers from Oakland, California Writers from Houston Writers from Salem, Massachusetts People from Fairfield, Iowa Salem State University alumni